This Chicken Ropa Vieja recipe is easy to make and perfect for a weeknight meal. It's full of flavor and delicious over white rice.
Chicken Ropa Vieja
Today I am putting a healthy twist on a Latin classic with a lighter variation of Ropa Vieja. Traditionally, Ropa Vieja or Carne Desmechada is made with beef, but I made this recipe with chicken and come to find out, it's just as tasty as the traditional version.
Another advantage to the Chicken Ropa Vieja versus its beef counterpart is in preparation time. You can have dinner ready in less that an hour with the chicken variation, whereas beef ropa vieja typically requires more time.
As much as I love cooking, sometimes it’s just about getting dinner on the table as simply and quickly as possible. Well, most of the time lately! When you have kids, dinner time is definitely one the most hectic times of the day, along with the 15 minutes just before going to school in the morning! This Chicken Ropa Vieja or Pollo Desmechado is an easy dish to make and it's delicious.
Ingredients You'll Need
The printable recipe card with exact amounts and cooking directions to make this dish is below.
- Chicken: I like to use chicken breasts with bone for extra flavor, but feel free to use it without the bone and reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.
- Vegetables: Onion, garlic, carrots, red and green bell pepper
- Spices: Salt, cumin, black pepper.
- Oil: I like to use olive oil.
- Seasoning: Tomato sauce, tomato paste and capers. If you don't like capers jut omit them.
How to Make Chicken Ropa Vieja
To Cook the Chicken
- In a pot, place the chicken breast, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 green pepper, and 4 cloves of garlic. Add water to cover the chicken, add salt, pepper and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
- To Make the Dish:
- Measure and strain 1 cup of the liquid used to cook the chicken and set aside. discard the green pepper, onion and garlic.
- Remove the chicken from the pot, let it cool and shred with a fork or your hands.
- In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the remaining crushed garlic, chopped onions and red bell pepper. Cook about 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the cooked and shredded chicken, tomato sauce, tomato paste, reserved chicken (liquid) broth, capers, salt, pepper and cumin. Cover and cook on low for about 10 minutes, adding more broth and seasoning if needed, stirring occasionally.
How to Serve
Served over rice with avocado and tajadas de maduro, it's an excellent dish that the whole family will love.
If you’re feeling super healthy, throw it over some spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. I ate the leftovers for lunch with arepa for three days straight and I loved every single bite.
Storing Leftovers
Store in the fridge in a container with lid up to 4 days. This dish is perfect for weeknight meal planning. Reheat in the microwave or stove top. Add a splash of chicken broth if the dish is dry.
More Chicken Recipes
Chicken Ropa Vieja Recipe
Ingredients
To Cook the Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts with bone
- 1 onion quartered
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 green pepper cut into pieces
- 1 carrot peeled and cut into pieces
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
To Prepare the Dish
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon Salt or to your taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons capers
Instructions
To Cook the Chicken
- In a pot, place the chicken breast, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 green pepper, and 4 cloves of garlic. Add water to cover the chicken, add salt, pepper and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
To Make the Chicken Ropa Vieja
- Measure and strain 1 cup of the liquid used to cook the chicken and set aside. discard the green pepper, onion and garlic.
- Remove the chicken from the pot, let it cool and shred with a fork or your hands.
- In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the remaining crushed garlic, chopped onions and red bell pepper. Cook about 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the cooked and shredded chicken, tomato sauce, tomato paste, reserved chicken (liquid) broth, capers, salt, pepper and cumin. Cover and cook on low for about 10 minutes, adding more broth and seasoning if needed, stirring occasionally.
Griselda Guzman
Hello, to clarify I only take the chicken out. Throw away the cooked onion, green pepper, garlic cloves and carrot?
AA
I have the same question
Erica Dinho
Yes
Sha
I tried this recipe tonight with boneless chicken tenders I defrosted (I cut back the boiling time by 10 minutes so they wouldn't dry out) and it was very good. Thanks for sharing.
Ruby
I'm a big fan of your recipes and I've made many of them especially the ones from the Coast. I'm from Cartagena. Esta receta es la preferida de mi familia. The best!
grace
this is something i've actually heard of and eaten, but never made. it's a satisfying meal, for sure!
Juliana
Delicious chicken dish Erica...and yes, I would love this chicken with some white rice...
Hope you are enjoying your week 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
So delicious and good for you too!
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz
That chicken really looks wonderful. I plan on having chicken meat over the weekend left over from another recipe, might have to give this a try.
Caritocolombia
Definitely doing this tonight. I was thinking what to do with a left over shredded chicken from yesterday and here it is ! Gracias Erika, Dios te bendiga y que en lo queda del invierno sigamos cocinando rico y adelgazando jaja!
Alan Bowman
Hola Erica de españa
Your comment about the rush to get dinner on the table interests me. Alejandra (a..k.a She Who Must Be Obeyed or SWMBO for short) teaches kids on a Saturday morning and classes go on until 1.pm (lunch time). Our solution to the problem is to use a slow-cooker.
I put the meal together on Friday evening and set up the slow-cooker to start cooking on 'Low' at 3.am. By 1.pm, lunch is cooked to perfection and has just to be served. All that has to be done on the day is prepare and cook the vegetables (maybe broccoli and super-whipped cheesy potatoes or herby dumplings).
Erica Dinho
Thanks,Alan! I should use my slowcooker more 🙂